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Pardoned by Jesus

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By true faith in Jesus Christ,
I am right with God
and heir to life everlasting.
Even though my conscience accuses me
of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments
and of never having kept any of them,
and even though I am still inclined toward all evil,
nevertheless, without my deserving it at all,
out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me
the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ,
as if I have never sinned nor been a sinner,
as if I had been as perfectly obedient
as Christ was obedient for me.
All I need to do
is accept this gift of God with a believing heart.

(from Heidelberg Catechism, questions 59-60, and taken from Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell)

BLACK Friday…

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So there I was this morning, wrapped around a Toys R Us at Midnight to get in for a few “deals”. We have a set budget for Christmas gifts and Meg has worked all the deals to find the best bang for our buck. I could help noticing, though, as I waited 1 hour and 40 minutes to check out (not to get in…to check out) if something was a bit awry in the thinking of the average American.

Seems like someone said something about this…Jesus in Luke 12:15…

Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Now, lest I call the kettle black, our society does have deals available and the holiday season is overly commercialized. If we would just guard our hearts with the same diligence we guard our bank accounts looking for good deals, we would not need this warning from Jesus on covetousness.

Black Friday is called Black Friday because traditionally it was the one day of the year that sent retailers into the black for the year (meaning they would earn a profit for the year). After my experience and reading these warnings from Jesus, I tend the think of Black Friday as a great reminder of the selfish and sinful nature of my heart without the grace of God. I want to boast in Him over any other deal.

Giving Thanks …

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Here’s a manuscript from what I said this past Sunday night at our church’s Thanksgiving Dinner…

On Sunday mornings this fall, we have begun to look at the book of Colossians. The more I steep in this book, the more the theme of thanksgiving seems to emerge.

In 1:3, Paul says “we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you” and continues that refrain in 1:11-12, when he told us that we please God the Father when we are “with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

In 2:7, it is as we are “rooted and built up in Jesus Christ and established in the faith, just as you were taught,” that we will be “abounding in thanksgiving.”

In Colossians 3:15-17, Paul instructs us to “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” It seems that the constant drumbeat of those who live under the supremacy of Jesus Christ are thankful hearts.

Finally, in 4:2, Paul tells them to be passionate for prayer and thanksgiving when we he says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” We are called to be a grateful community. We’ve received so much more than we deserve. Therefore, tonight, we set aside a time to boast in the Lord and praise Him for the grace He’s shown us as a church.

What are you thankful for? What things has God done in your life this year? How could others be encouraged hearing of these things?

Some highlights for me included:
• Celebrating 5 years of marriage to my greatest gift, Meghan
• Purchasing a new home and moving out of an old one
• Watching God mature us and lead us and show His faithfulness with all the issues of water and mold in the basement
• Seeing God’s Word come alive in lives and hearts as we’ve studied Mark, Luke 15, Hosea and Colossians
• Deepening relationships I have with men and the Elders
• Traveling to conferences with men and other pastors, to Student Life Missions Camp, to visit the Stickels, to vacations
• Experiencing deep fellowship in small groups
• Sensing God’s encouragement as new ministries have emerged and new people have come our way

I’m sure there are other specific things you all have as well. What are some of those?

Thanks for the eyes…

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I was thinking this morning as I did devotions about Luke 10:21-24. Luke tells us that Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit for God the Father’s work in revealing truth to others. What a blessing it is that our eyes have been opened to behold spiritual realities. Thank God today for the gift of illumination.

Vacation…

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As some of you may know, we left at 3AM on Tues, Nov 24, to come to my Mom’s. We ended up getting here around 2:30PM, and after Supper at my sister’s, we were all exhausted. Andrew went up to his cousins and said (without our prompting), “By-by, we are going to Bamma’s to go to sleep.”

So, we are having some vacation time. I knew it was vacation this morning when I got up this morning. My vacation:

A third cup of morning coffee…

How Beneficial?

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I had some time to prepare for this coming Lord’s Day already. We will be studying Colossians 1:13-14 in a sermon I’m calling “Transfer Orders”. The outline has to do with the benefits extended to us through God’s rescue mission: rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His Beloved Son. Spurgeon, again, is on his game when he says:

And now Paul, having mentioned his Master’s great work—redemption by blood and the forgiveness of sins—goes on a tangent, as it were. He is so enthusiastic with regard to Christ and His great atoning Sacrifice that the very thought of Christ’s blood stirs his own blood and he seems like a man all on fire with holy fervor…

What struck me in this quote was the way in which these truths affected him. I wonder if we are moved by the beneficial message of God’s redemption and forgiveness for us. As we continue to think of this week, allow these truths–the truths of God’s Word from Colossians 1:13-14–to inspire fresh gratitude in your life.

Sunday Recap – Pleasing God

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Yesterday, we look at Colossians 1:11-12 in a sermon entitled Pleasing Him. This sermon really focused our attention on our need of grace from God and how He’s shown such amazing grace in giving us the Gospel. These points flowed from the general theme of what it looks like to walk in God’s will or in a manner pleasing to Him or walking in a manner worthy of Him.

I was encouraged to see how God is able to give us strength in circumstances and with people. These are situations in which many of us feel helpless. But, God is there to give grace. I hope your heart was encouraged.

Thanks to the Son!

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On Sabbath Evening, January 15, 1860, Charles Spurgeon stepped into the pulpit at New Park Street Chapel to preach a sermon entitled, Special Thanksgiving to the Father from Colossians 1:12-13. This quote from this sermon will be one I use today in transitioning from my own sermon from Colossians 1:11-12 into the Lord’s Supper…

I think, my Brethren, we scarcely need to be told to give thanks unto the Son. The remembrance of that bleeding body hanging upon the Cross is ever present to our faith. The nails and the spear, His griefs, the anguish of His soul and His sweat of agony make much tender touching appeals to our gratitude—these will prevent us always from ceasing our songs and sometimes fire our hearts with rekindling rapture in praise of the Man, Christ Jesus. Yes, we will bless You, dearest Lord. Our souls are all on fire. As we survey the wondrous Cross, we cannot but shout—“O for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
The Savior’s praises speak.”

Give thanks to the Son for His work in the Gospel!

Thanksgiving Help (Spiritually Speaking)

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Don Whitney has had a huge influence upon my life in many ways. He was a professor of Spiritual Formation for me back in seminary days. Each church I’ve had the privilege of serving since then has had Don come and help us equip our people in spiritual things. He has many helpful resources on his website. (He will be back at Crestview in the Spring of 2010, March 12-14). He offers some practical encouragement for Thanksgiving in what he calls Sing The Table Blessing as a means to foster family worship during this upcoming holiday. Allow your thanksgiving time to be one in which you as a family are able to come together to thank the Ultimate Giver.

Fight Club Discipleship

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This morning, I opened my email inbox and had minutes from the latest Men’s Ministry meeting. One thing they seemed to be burdened about is the need for men to be discipled, a need that, no doubt, exists and they are seeking to intentionally serve.

I was reminded of this helpful free E-book online at The Resurgence. The book is entitled Fight Clubs by Jonathan Dobson. It is a fairly easy read (I read it in about 30 minutes) full of what practical discipleship looks like in the local church. The book is a free resource and here’s a blip of what they write on their site:

If you’ve struggled to follow Jesus by veering away from the gospel into duty-bound legalism or moralistic indifference, then this book is for you! Fight Clubs is a radical call to fight the fight of faith in the strength of the gospel. Jonathan Dodson calls us to join the fight against sin, legalism, and license by looking to Christ and His gospel. Fight Clubs equips us to fight the fight of faith by exposing the fleeting promises of sin and drawing us into the grace-saturated promises of God. Displacing defective forms of discipleship, Dodson keeps the gospel central by tapping into various layers of biblical motivations that promote joyful obedience to Christ. The book also provides a strategy to fight sin as the church—small fighting communities called Fight Clubs. Read this book; form a fight club; and start fighting in the strength of the gospel.

I commend this to you for your consideration.